It is known to rotate circular cylindrical bodies that are conveyed in one direction about their vertical axis by means of a turning unit. In the beverage processing industry such a rotation may be necessary for different treatment steps of containers. These include, for example, cleaning the interior of the containers, guaranteeing that the cleaning medium can flow off, or labelling the container bottom.
In the prior art, so-called free-run-type tuners and shove-type turners are known. Free-run-type turners have a slope, so that the containers are rotated by the weight force in combination with contacting through the device. Shove-type turners have no slope and the containers are rotated due to the ram pressure of the subsequent containers.
DE 20 2011 005 686 U1 discloses a turner in which four interconnected elements having openings for the path of movement are provided, each of the four elements being cuboid-shaped and having respective openings formed therein, where each of the four elements extends over the entire length of the path of movement parallel to the direction of movement, and where two respective elements adjoin one another with surfaces arranged parallel to the direction of movement of the containers. Each of the components defines on its side facing away from the edge the contour of the channel that allows turning, rotation or some other change of position of the container during the conveying process parallel to the edges. At the transition points of the elements, butt joints are formed, which may interfere with the flow of containers and cause damage to the containers.
EP 0 070 195 A2 discloses a turning device consisting of approximately 50 to 70 plates arranged parallel to one another. Each of these plates has in its central area an opening having a specific shape. The shape differs slightly from one plate to the next. A can that enters the first plate at a certain position meets an opening that corresponds substantially to the shape of the can. In the next plate, the opening is again adapted to the shape of the can, but with a certain inclination. This continues in the third plate. After having passed through all 50 to 70 plates, the can will have been rotated by 180° or some other predetermined angle. Here, a large number of butt joints interfere with the flow of containers and may cause damage to the containers.
DE 2 301 524 discloses a device for conveying objects with a cage-like guide including a number of parallel rails attached to frame elements at intervals along the path of the objects. A portion of the cage-like guide can here be rotated about the axis of the transport path of the containers, so that the containers entering the guide section on one side in an upright position will be rotated from their vertical orientation while passing through this guide section and will exit on the other side of the guide section in a tilted position. The device consists of a large number of individual parts and movable components, and this may cause hygiene problems in the event of contamination, since cleaning is only possible to a limited extent.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,479,574 discloses a container transport apparatus with a substantially rectangular frame structure and flat guide structures extending upwardly from the frame structure, the lower parts of these guide structures being rigidly connected to the frame structure. Each of the guide structures has a centrally located aperture sized and shaped to receive therein the containers. The container guide means include an input twist portion, an intermediate portion located adjacent thereto and an output twist portion located adjacent to the intermediate portion.
A turner according to the prior art is normally manufactured to customer specifications and is expensive due to the small batch size (usually a batch size of one). During production, multi-axis tools must often be used for machining undercuts, by way of example. The shaping of the guides (e.g. the bending of bars) of turners necessitates high manual effort to this day. In addition, it takes a great deal of time and effort to ensure the necessary close manufacturing tolerances.